Under and Over Chapter 29
Carrying her ever-present black leather folder, Kate takes a seat opposite Leonard Philpot. Castle drops into a chair facing Bill Moss.
"My client is asserting his Fifth Amendment right not to answer your questions," Moss announces.
"What a surprise," Castle mutters, drawing a glare from the lawyer.
"That's Mr. Philpot's right, but," Kate adds, "the constitution doesn't limit me from speaking to him, particularly in the presence of counsel. And Mr. Moss, I assume you're not asserting that right on your own behalf. So I'm going to start with a question for you. Are you expecting Mr. Philpot to pay you out of his own pocket? Has he presented you with a retainer?"
Leonard glances nervously toward the lawyer. "That's not relevant to this case," Moss claims.
"I think it is," Kate declares. "Your client is associated with Keepers of Freedom's Flame. We have records showing that he made trips to KOOF's compound on several occasions. He's contributed to the organization. His car, the one in the vicinity of the murder of Duane Turnbull, carries KOOF's insignia."
"I still don't see any relevance to the source of my remuneration," Moss insists.
"The relevance is that KOOF is funded by Future Forward, which is in turn funded by your uncle, Ben Moss. If you're being paid by your uncle, one could easily infer that's where your loyalties lie. The question for Mr. Philpot to consider is whether your job is to protect him, or protect your uncle."
"Which, hypothetically, could be one and the same," Moss points out.
"Unless Ben Moss solicited Mr. Philpot to kill Duane Turnbull," Kate returns. "The bullets in his weapon match all thirty rounds the medical examiner recovered from what was left of Turnbull's body. Mr. Philpot gains no advantage by his silence. He doesn't have to tell me or a judge that he did it. It's a slam dunk with a jury. The evidence speaks for itself. His only hope for any kind of a break is to divulge the identity of the person who hired him. But you haven't encouraged him to do that, have you? You're not looking out for Mr. Philpot, you're looking out for your uncle."
As Philpot leans across the table toward Kate, Moss puts a hand on his arm. "Remember what I told you. Don't say anything."
Philpot shakes out of Moss's grip. "I'm not paying you. I can't pay you. Who is? Who are you working for?"
"Attorney-client privilege," Moss insists. "I don't have to disclose that."
"To the man who you claim is your client?" Rick interjects. "I've known some second graders who wouldn't buy that."
"Who are you working for?" Philpot repeats, glaring at the lawyer.
Moss's mouth presses into a tight line.
Kate shrugs. "I think you got your answer, Mr. Philpot. What do you want to do now?"
"I want another lawyer," Philpot decides, "one of those free appointed ones."
"You heard him, Mr. Moss," Kate responds. "I'll have officers escort you from the building."
"So," Rick asks, handing Kate a mug of fresh-brewed coffee, "what kind of a lawyer do you think Philpot will get now?"
"Whoever comes up in the rotation at the public defender's office. Probably a law school fresh-out who will urge him to take a plea. With their caseloads, the last thing those guys want is to have to go through the time and trouble of a trial. And the faster this goes, the less chance of Ben Moss being able to send someone to take Philpot out. I'll make sure the lawyer knows that and also demands protection for Philpot."
"So if Philpot flips on Ben Moss, then what?"
"His testimony will go a long way toward nailing Moss. But just like with Bracken, we'll still need corroborating evidence."
"And what's your plan for getting that?" Rick wonders.
"I think what you said about Dan Moss being important to the case, was right, Castle," Kate concedes. "I'd really like to talk to him. But I think I'd do better face to face than by phone or over the internet."
"You want to go to Fresno? I've always wanted to see the raisins."
"I hate to break it to you, Rick, but they don't really sing and dance."
"I know that, Kate. Mother dated one of the guys who worked on the commercials. But I spent years putting those cute little boxes in Alexis's lunches. It would be fun to see where they come from."
"Maybe, if we have time. But you know Montgomery isn't big on side trips. If he OKs going out there, it will be to meet with Dan Moss and come back."
"All right," Rick sighs. "But the department doesn't pay my way and you never know how things will work out."
"With you around, I definitely never know."
The farm in California's Central Valley is not exactly what Kate expected. Instead of golden fields as far as the eye can see, plots of various organic vegetables are in different stages of growth. Trees also take up quite a bit of the land. Dan Moss himself drives her and Rick up to the main building in an electric cart. "We charge these, using solar energy," he explained as they climbed in. "We rotate crops to put nitrogen in the ground instead of using fertilizers that can run off. We use no pesticides and manually pick off pests or use varieties that resist them. If allowed to grow naturally, many plants develop their own defense systems. We're very proud of our 100% organic certification."
"Doesn't that make your products more expensive?" Kate asks.
"Our customers are more than happy to pay for not poisoning the planet and themselves," Dan replies. "We supply retail markets and upscale restaurants. But you didn't come here to talk about my business, you said you wanted to talk about my brother's possible connection to a murder."
"That's right," Kate acknowledges, as Dan ushers her and Castle to wooden chairs at what looks like a handmade wooden table.
"We have water pumped from our own wells if you want it," Dan offers.
"No thanks," Kate responds as Rick shakes his head. "Look, Mr. Moss."
"Dan, please. I don't like being confused with my brother."
"Very understandable," Castle interjects.
"Dan," Kate begins again. "We think your brother funded, at least indirectly, a murder. He's also been supporting Bill Bracken."
"Perhaps you've heard about Mr. Crooked Politician and Murderer of the Year – actually the last 20," Rick suggests.
"I'm familiar with Bill Bracken," Dan replies. "Even before he was arrested, in my world, he was a fairly infamous green washer, pretending to be an environmentalist while supporting the polluters. That would make him a perfect fit with Ben. He's always talked the same dirty game."
"What other kinds of groups does your brother support?" Kate asks.
"Whatever suits his purposes."
"Ever known him to put money into a militia?" Rick inquires.
"Oh yeah. You remember last year when the indigenous peoples were fighting a pipeline running through their sacred lands?" Dan queries. "Ben sent some money the way of a militia that went in to attack the protesters. When I found out about it, I did my best to cut that funding off. But before I could, there were people in the hospital. And before the President jumped in and stopped the project, the same pipe sprung a leak and despoiled territory that could take a generation to recover."
"So you do have some control over family funds?" Kate probes.
"I do, but my brother is extremely good at covering his tracks."
"Still, you know where to look," Kate presses.
"After all these years, I have a pretty good idea."